


Chasing Ghosts

by agaytoremembr



Series: sterling!verse [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: M/M, Sad Klaus, The one year anniversary of everything going to shit, diego disappears and his boyfriend is WORRIED, klaus really needs a drink, mainly focusing on Dave and Eudora's deaths and how it's affecting klaus and diego, sad angry diego, sterling loves his two disasters, this is some top sad boi hours, which devolves into just sad diego
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 19:30:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18372602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agaytoremembr/pseuds/agaytoremembr
Summary: Not seeing Diego for a few days wasn’t unusual. Not hearing from Diego for a few days was, but it wasn’t worrying.Radio silence for a week straight, on the other hand? It had all of Sterling’s internal alarm bells going off.It's been a year since the world went to shit, and Diego disappears.





	Chasing Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> This will make more sense if you read the first part of the series but essentially I gave Diego a boyfriend and I loved him so much I needed to write more lil one shots. 
> 
> This is the product of me being sad and thinking about how Diego would grieve the one year anniversary of Patch's death.

Not seeing Diego for a few days wasn’t unusual. Not hearing from Diego for a few days _was_ , but it wasn’t worrying.

 

Radio silence for a week straight, on the other hand? It had all of Sterling’s internal alarm bells going off. When he couldn’t find him at the gym, he did the only sensible thing for a boyfriend whose other half was missing: he showed up at the family home and knocked on the door so hard he absently wondered if it would break from the force of it.

 

The door opened suddenly, and Sterling’s clenched fist hit Klaus’ thin chest instead of heavy wood. He froze, then yanked his hand back. “Klaus, I’m so-”

 

Klaus blinked owlishly, looking down at his chest like he wasn’t sure if the blow had been real or not. “Yanno,” he said from around not one but _two_ lollipops, cutting Sterling off, “we _do_ have a doorbell.”

 

Sterling stared at him before his gaze flickered to the doorbell in question. His cheeks flamed. “Sorry, I was just- is Diego here?”

 

Klaus looked at him blankly, sucking hard on the lollipops. Diego had mentioned that sugar was Klaus’ go-to when he wanted a hit, but Sterling could tell he was jonesing even without the candy reminder. Klaus’ hands shook with small tremors, his fingers wrapped around the opposite forearm to try to control it. His nails were digging into his pale skin, and looked ready to draw blood.

 

Sterling only hesitated a split second before encircling Klaus’ wrists, gently prying his fingers away. “Hey, hey, you’re okay, it’s gonna be okay,” he murmured, in the same tone he used at work, when kids were too scared to come out of their hiding places during fires. The same tone he used when Diego had one of his many nightmares. It worked; Klaus’ tremors faded slightly, and he looked like he was able to breathe again, at least. “Can I come in?”

 

Klaus blinked. He pulled his hands out of Sterling’s grasp, stepping back to allow him entry. He shrugged. “Diego’s not here, but sure, why not.” He pulled one of the lollipop sticks from his mouth, bare of candy. “It’s the anniversary, so.”

 

Sterling frowned. “The anniversary of what?”

 

Klaus let out a nearly hysterical laugh. “Of what, he asks,” he chortled, gesturing to an empty space to Sterling’s left. “Ben, can you believe this guy?”

 

 _Oh_. Ben. Sterling flushed, nearly having forgotten about the ghost brother that only Klaus could see. He was about to question, but Klaus waved him off.

 

“Of everything,” Klaus said with a roll of his eyes. He held up his hand, ticking off the events, “Five coming back,”

 

 _A good thing_ , Sterling thought with a frown.

 

“Dad dying,” another finger went up.

 

Sterling had mixed feelings about that one, but from what he’d heard, another good thing.

 

“Diego’s lady detective dying,” a third finger, and Klaus’ eyes were glassy.

 

Sterling’s heart fell to his stomach, but Klaus went on.

 

“Vanya almost destroyed the world as we know it and slashed Allison’s throat,”

 

_Wait, what?!_

 

“and more besides that. So when you ask of what, you should really be more specific,” Klaus finished, somewhat lamely. “But you’re looking for Diego, right?”

 

At Sterling’s nod, Klaus sighed, sinking into an armchair and looking smaller than Sterling had ever seen him. “He’ll probably be at the cemetery.”

 

Klaus looked so far away, even though there was only a few feet between them. Sterling felt guilty at the thought of leaving him like that.

 

“I offered to conjure her, y’know,” Klaus said suddenly, his eyes dull. “But Diego said, and I quote, ‘fuck off, Klaus, get out of the _van_ , Klaus!’” He paused, glaring at nothing ( _Ben_ , Sterling’s mind supplied), then scowled. “I _know_ those weren’t his exact words, but they’re close enough.” He looked at Sterling with a kind of long suffering shrug, unwrapping a brightly colored piece of candy. “Ben doesn’t appreciate my dramatic retellings.”

 

Sterling frowned, still struggling to comprehend. It was information overload, and his usual support in understanding all the things the family said was conspicuously absent. “Klaus… where is everybody?”

 

Klaus’ answering giggle sounded almost sinister. “Don’t know,” he said simply, “don’t care.” He popped the candy in his mouth and scowled. “Shut up, Ben.”

 

Sterling was getting increasingly conflicted about leaving Klaus alone. It was one thing to be worried about Diego and want to make sure he was safe and not hurting; it was his boyfriend, it was expected. But he felt the strange urge to protect Klaus from what seemed to be his many, many demons. His boyfriend’s brother seemed fragile, in a way that brought out Sterling’s natural protective instincts.

 

“It’s been a year since Dave, too,” Klaus whispered, not looking at Sterling. He was clutching something in his hands desperately, as if they held all the answers. _Dogtags_ , Sterling realized with a jolt, and for the first time noticed that Klaus was wearing the threadbare army vest again. It had taken his siblings a month and a half to convince him not to wear it every single day. “But nobody cares about that. Always their trauma, never mine.”

 

Klaus was stroking the rough fabric absently, staring into space, and Sterling thought that the dog tags and the vest were probably the only things keeping him somewhat together.

 

“Klaus?” Sterling said softly. “I don’t feel so good about leavin’ you here alone, buddy. You don’t look like you’re doin’ so great. You wanna come with me to find Diego?”

 

Klaus’ eyelids fluttered and Sterling could tell he was just barely fighting exhaustion. Klaus wrinkled his nose. “Diego gets real stabby when he’s upset,” he mumbled, his face pressed against the velvet arm of the chair, knees tucked tight against his chest.

 

Sterling could have laughed if the situation didn’t fill him with such dread. “I promise he won’t stab you. Can you walk to the truck for me?”

 

Klaus shook his head weakly, squeezing his eyes shut and burying his face in the chair.

 

Sterling sighed. “Well, I’m not leavin’ you here.”

 

And that was how he found himself carrying Klaus, princess style, to his pickup, while his boyfriend’s brother mumbled unintelligibly. Surely Sterling had found himself in odder situations before, but he couldn’t quite think of any. He was just glad Klaus was scrawny enough that it didn’t sap too much of Sterling’s strength, carrying him outside. He had a soft spot for recovering addicts, and an even softer spot for Diego’s family, which was what he kept telling himself as he gently laid Klaus down in the backseat. “Buckle up before you pass out,” he said sternly, closing the back door and climbing in the front.

 

“‘M’ gonna,” Sterling heard Klaus mutter, along with a fair amount of clumsy shuffling and the click of a seatbelt, “not gett’n k’cked outta th’ van _this_ time.”

 

Which made zero sense to Sterling, but he brushed it off. According to Diego, half of what Klaus said made no sense. It just mattered that he listened. “It’s a truck, actually,” he corrected good-naturedly, punching in the cemetery’s address into his GPS.

 

\---/---

 

It was pretty easy to find Diego once they got to the cemetery. His boyfriend was curled up in front of a grave, his eyes red and puffy from continuous crying. When he caught sight of Sterling, his eyes narrowed. Sterling didn’t think Diego had ever looked at him like that before, flat and angry.

 

“If you’re here to say-” Diego began harshly, but Sterling held up his hands.

 

“I’m not,” he promised.

 

Diego rolled his eyes. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

 

“No,” Sterling agreed, “I don’t. But I’m not here to _say_ anythin’, D. Okay?”

 

“Then _why_?” Diego’s voice broke, and Sterling itched to wrap him up in a hug. He waited, though. This had to be Diego’s decision.

 

“Because I thought you might need me,” Sterling said simply, and he could see the little control Diego had melt away. He fell into Sterling’s arms and sobbed.

 

\---/---

 

“Your brother is in the car,” Sterling mumbled, some time later when Diego was finally calmer. It had been at least an hour of holding him and murmured endearments to get him to the point where he could speak coherently again.

 

Sterling really had to up his weird scenarios, because holding his boyfriend as he cried, while leaning up against said boyfriend’s ex’s _grave,_  was definitely taking the cake. Not that he minded.

 

“Klaus?” Diego frowned, turning his head to look at Sterling. The crying had taken a lot out of him; he looked bone-tired and _sad._ Focusing on a particular point of conversation would probably have been beyond him, if he wasn’t the most stubborn person alive.

 

Sterling nodded. “I'm pretty sure he’s still sleepin’, but he said somethin’ about not getting kicked out of the van again? He knows I drive a pickup, right?”

 

“Cowboy,” Diego teased automatically, before the rest even registered. He snorted, rolling his eyes. “You kick your junkie brother out of a van _one time,_  and he never lets you hear the end of it.”

 

“Well, he _is_ your most dramatic sibling,” Sterling reminded him, before biting his lip. He might as well get it all out; Diego would find out when they went to leave. He sighed. “He’s wearin’ the vest again.”

 

Diego’s chest heaved with the weight of his sigh. His eyelids fell shut. “It’s been a _year_ , since both of them. I sometimes forget that it happened to him too, you know? He talks to Dave, still sees him. He seems almost happy, most of the time. But dead’s still dead.

“He offered to bring her back today,” Diego said quietly.

 

“Would seein’ her make you feel better?” Sterling asked, lightly, hyperaware of just how fragile his boyfriend was.

 

Diego snorted. “Honestly? Yeah, probably. At first, anyway. But it doesn’t matter what I want.” He sighed, burrowing into Sterling’s chest. “Klaus summoned her, after everything calmed down. A year ago. So I could say goodbye. And I did, _we_ did. But Eudora…” he laughed. “I’ve never met a person so stubborn, except maybe me. She made me promise not to let Klaus summon her again. She wanted to be at peace. She wanted me to be able to move on.” Sterling could feel Diego’s smile against his neck. “And I did.

 

“But Klaus… he doesn't have a Eudora. He has a Dave, who loves him too much to tell him no, hell, who would probably still rather have half of Klaus than move on and have nothing at all.” Diego was quiet for a few minutes, and Sterling let him stew. “The thing about Eudora… she never met a responsibility she didn’t try to take on. She knew about sacrifices, and she was headstrong. Once she got an idea in her head, especially if she thought it was good for someone she loved, there was no changing her mind.”

 

“And she thought having Klaus keep her around would be bad for you,” Sterling finished gently, slightly in awe of this woman who his boyfriend grieved so badly for.

 

Diego nodded. “I used to think Klaus was the lucky one. At least he could still see Dave, even touch him if he really wanted to. But now…” he took a shuddering breath, and Sterling felt a strange wetness on his neck. “Klaus isn’t moving on. He _can’t_ move on. He’s stuck in a half relationship that can’t really happen, because Dave is dead, and as much as he hates it, he isn’t coming back. I know that, Dave knows that, hell, even _Klaus_ knows that- but he won’t let him go. I know he’s talking Dave into staying with him, Klaus could talk the feathers off a chicken if he wanted to, but he’s unraveling, _Plateado_.”

 

The little nickname filled Sterling’s chest with warmth, and he pulled Diego a little tighter against his chest. “Well, what are we gonna do about it, darlin’?”

  
Diego shrugged. “Dave probably would have moved on by now, but…”

 

“But?” Sterling prompted.

 

Diego sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Klaus doesn’t think he can die,” he mumbled.

 

“....what?”

 

Diego met Sterling’s open mouthed stare with a shrug. “He’s serious about it. He had this… _experience_ , during the not-pocalypse. Swears he died, and God said she didn’t like him, so he wasn’t allowed to die.”

 

Sterling’s expression didn’t change. “You sure he didn’t, y’know, _dream_ this?”

 

Diego’s jaw tightened. “If not for the fact that he claimed to have seen Dad, and Pogo backed up everything Klaus said Dad told him, that’s what I would have said, too.”

 

Sterling opened his mouth, then closed it again. What could he say to that? “You don’t… _believe_ it, do you?” Somehow, Klaus being able to see ghosts was fine, but the idea of him being immortal… Sterling couldn’t comprehend it.

 

Diego snorted. “Hell no! But…” his voice got impossibly small. “We also didn’t believe he was talking to Ben, either. And how are we supposed to prove it to him? Kill him?” He laughed without humor. “If it works, we’ll have just _killed_ our _brother,_  and if it doesn’t… it’ll confirm to Klaus that he’s stuck here to be miserable forever, and his sobriety will be down the toilet.”

 

Sterling blinked. “ _Shit,_ ” he said succinctly. “I mean. I guess I get it. If it were you? And there was a chance moving on meant never seein’ you again? I’d probably stay, too.”

 

Diego’s cheeks flushed. “As sweet as that is, it’s not going to make our point, so please don’t tell Klaus.”

 

Sterling rolled his eyes. “I’m not that dumb,” he scoffed, poking Diego’s arm playfully. “We could have an intervention.”

 

Diego’s nose wrinkled. “No offense, but I’m pretty sure Klaus has had dozens of those before. They never worked with the drugs, so why would they work with his love life?”

 

“Well,” Sterling said quietly, “ _you_ were never at these interventions you assume he had. His family wasn’t, and that’s an important part. Plus..." Sterling shrugged, "who said the intervention was for Klaus?”

 

Diego stared at him for a moment before it clicked, and a slow grin lit up his features. “You’re a fucking genius.”

 

Sterling shrugged, a tiny smile playing on his lips. “Klaus might not listen to reason, but Dave seems like a pretty reasonable fella. And he loves Klaus, so…”

 

“He’ll do what it takes if he thinks it will make him happy,” Diego finished, melting against Sterling’s chest. “It’s worth a shot, anyway.”

 

“We’ll talk to the rest of your family in a few days,” Sterling decided, pressing a kiss to the back of Diego’s head. “But for now… tell me about Patch?”

 

Diego’s expression softened, and he smiled as he launched into stories that were obviously very dear to him.

 

He expected it to sting, at least a little, the obvious love and adoration Diego still had for Eudora Patch, but what Sterling did not expect to completely understand. He was gay, painfully gay, but halfway through listening to Diego tell a story about Patch arresting him _again_ , and their games of cat and mouse, and how honorable she was, Sterling wasn’t ashamed to admit he felt a little in love it her himself.

 

They would worry about Klaus later; probably worry about the whole _family_ later, but right now? Diego deserved time to grieve, and be comforted, and Sterling would be damned if anyone would take it away from him.

  


**Author's Note:**

> Comments give me life!!
> 
> Also let me know if you'd like me to continue in this verse?


End file.
